Of Chaos and Dragons - A RWBY & Elder Scrolls Tale - Reboot
by DovahCourier
Summary: Rebooted from earlier; Cinder, Neo, and Emerald find themselves tossed into Tamriel 200 years into the 4th era... The Thalmor are in power, an ancient evil is awakening, and a new hero is needed to rise... How could this go wrong? Rated M for violence and such.
1. Chapter 1

_AN_ _: Hello Readers, DovahCourier here! As I mentioned before, I have completely rebooted the story. I, and many of you, didn't like the direction I was going with it. Therefore, here is my attempt at reworking it. (If you're new, don't worry about it!). One of the biggest things I have to say is that this isn't specifically 'RWBY/Skyrim', but is going to be more 'RWBY/Elder Scrolls' in general. This means more lore, more locations, more characters, etc. It still takes place during the Skyrim timeline, aka 4e200ish, but we will be witnessing a lot more that the frigid land of the Nords. I hope you all like it, and feel free to leave a review!_

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 _I do not own RWBY or the Elder Scrolls. Those belong to RoosterTeeth and Bethesda._

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 _ **Of Chaos and Dragons**_

 **A RWBY/Elder Scrolls story**

Chapter One – Hammer and Anvil

Cinder dodged the beowolf's claws, rolling backwards. She rose to one knee, fireball already forming in her right hand. She snapped her arm, the ball of flames impacting the beast square in the chest. She rose, spinning around to see the next beowolf charging. She ran a hand along her dress, the Dust-infused fabric partially shattering to form a bow. She drew back and fired, the obsidian arrow igniting midflight. The arrow impacted between the beast's eyes, shattering as it melted a hole through its skull.

Cinder heard the next target before seeing it. She snapped her bow in half, swinging her newly formed shortswords up behind her head in a blocking position. The action was met with a metallic scrape as another weapon impacted. She rolled forward, spinning around as she did so. She looked up, locking eyes with her assailant.

Tyrian stood tall, pincer-like wrist daggers at the ready. Cinder noticed his tail, little more than a mutilated stump, swaying behind him, almost with a mind of its own. Tyrian lunged, looking almost awkward as he went weapons first instead of using his tail. Cinder caught one hand between her blades, twisting his wrist hard. She heard the spring system groan, followed by a pop and the blades snapping off completely.

Cinder followed through, slamming the pommel of her blade into the side of Tyrian's head. The scorpion fell, gripping the struck temple and wincing with pain. Cinder aimed both blades at his throat, satisfied with how her training had gone. She prepared to sheathe her blades and help the warrior up, only to freeze when she heard a sound that she associated with pure terror.

The heels clicked across the black stone floor, echoing through the training hall. Cinder winced as a cold hand wrapped around her shoulder, completely numbing the warmth that normally accompanied using her maiden powers. "Good, Cinder; you're improving."

Cinder nodded curtly, back straight as an arrow. "Thank you, Salem." She said, her voice almost completely healed from the tower accident.

Salem stepped around Cinder, walking up to one of the disintegrating Grimm bodies. She held a hand over the dead creature. Ash billowed, the black material jumping to her stark white flesh like powdered metal to a magnet. As the remains of the beast disappeared, the veins of black across Salem's skin seemed to pulse with energy, feeding the aura of pure shadow that followed the woman.

After doing the same to the second Grimm, Salem stepped towards Tyrian's still crumpled body. She looked down as a child would at a broken toy. "Get up." She said cold and flatly.

As Salem scolded Tyrian, Cinder felt something in the back of her mind. _'Oh no, not again…'_ She thought, preparing for the worst. She closed her eye, only to find herself looking eye to eyes with Salem once more. The two were 'standing' in Cinder's mind; a black void, filled with nothing but mist and the two of them.

" _You should have killed him."_ The phantom said, slight signs of irritation leaking through her voice. Each word stabbed at the back of Cinder's mind like a shard of ice.

" _I wasn't under orders to, mam."_ Cinder responded, shivering.

" _That matters not! You should know now that those too weak to survive… those who don't even raise their damn Aura in combat… don't deserve to be in our new world."_

Cinder responded immediately, fear leaving her for a fraction of a second. _"And how will we make this 'new world'! All you want is for us to create chaos! How is this putting us in positions of power, when said positions are being destroyed with our every a-"_

Cinder didn't get to finish her sentence. She was snapped out of the trance, opening her eye to find Salem gripping her by the neck. Salem raised her up with one hand, lifting Cinder to the point that her feet were dangling. "Now you listen to me, _Maiden_." Salem barked, emphasizing the word as if she was speaking about a pile of dirt. " _I_ am what gave you power! _I_ am why you are even alive right now! You will do everything that _I_ tell you, or…" A smirk formed on the face of the 'woman', sending a shiver down Cinder's spine. "…or I will break that little toy of yours."

Cinder attempted to hide the shock. "What are you talking about?" She managed to choke out.

"You know exactly _who_ I'm talking about. Don't act surprised; I see everything in this domain, from when you eat and sleep, to when you let that little green-haired minion of yours slip into both your room and your sheets…"

Cinder stared down at Salem, panicking as she attempted to push all thoughts of Emerald to the back of her head. "That was a one-time thing, madam! We were both scared and stressed, we didn't know if-"

Salem dropped Cinder, who landed with an unceremonious thud. "It better not happen again. We have three kingdoms to destroy; the last thing we need is for two you to spark off the very thing we wish to eradicate. Now, will it happen again?"

Cinder shook her head. She watched as Salem walked away, Tyrian following with tail between his legs. Cinder got onto one knee, closing her good eye to prevent a tear from leaking out. "No, it won't happen again."

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Neo stretched, managing to reach the shelf she was trying to get to. She pulled down a small vial, using tweezers to take out a couple of deep purple petals. She added placed them in the mortar and pestle before her, mixing them with a couple of mushroom heads and a few small slivers of refined frost Dust. While being grabbed midair by a Nevermore above Beacon had cost her a few weeks of sleep, she had to admit the fortress had a near endless amount of materials for her to work with.

While most assassins Neo had discovered through work with Roman preferred to either use modern equipment to create poisons and toxins, or bought them premade on the black market, Neo preferred a more… timeless approach. She ground the ingredients together, before pouring the now sand-like powder into a glass beaker of water over a flame. She turned the heat up, watching as the liquid began to boil. The steam and powder traveled through a thin line, mixing with a thicker poisonous sap in a second section of the apparatus. The resulting concoction; a syrupy material that swirled between white and navy blue, flowed to a nozzle on the side of the rig. She turned a valve, holding a small vial under it as the finished product dripped into it.

Neo corked the vial, sliding the blood-freezing poison into place in a storage bag with a sigh. She had realized quickly; while Salem's fortress had a nearly unlimited amount of materials to work with, it came with the cost of nobody to test them on. Grimm had no blood, therefore poisons would do nothing but make the wound dangerous for a combatant to touch, and Salem's lapdogs were always under security that made Atlas' gates look like a mere rusty padlock.

Neo looked out the window, taking in the landscape surrounding the fortress. A constant cloud of mist hung over, giving the area an odd red glow that only complimented the red and black lands. The shattered moon never seemed to go away, glowing down like a broken eye across the hellscape. Grimm of all shapes and sizes dotted the landscape, from small Omega Beowolves all the way up to a single massive wyvern-like creature, dwarfed only slightly by the dragon wrapped around Beacon's ruins.

Neo heard a noise behind her. She spun, grabbing a small utility knife off the table. She held it out, ready to stab at whatever was near her, only to find Emerald standing, startled. The young woman looked terrified; tear marks ran down her face from her tired eyes, along with a few deep black welts crossed her upper arm and shoulder. Neo immediately recognized the wounds; whenever Salem would get mad, she didn't lash out personally. Instead, she'd have that floating Grimm… _thing_ … do her dirty work, striking from shadows and leaving burning wounds. All involved in the Beacon operation had received one for the loss of the Grimm dragon, and to Neo's knowledge, Tyrian's back was nearly shredded after failing to capture some huntress girl.

Neo stepped over to Emerald, placing a hand on her shoulder. The two of them, along with Cinder, had bonded while at the fortress; while Salem's word was law, they had failed to realize from the outside how extreme her measures could be at times. Emerald in particular had nearly glued herself to Cinder's side, doing everything to make her feel better for the situation at Beacon. The green-haired thief looked down at Neo, scarlet eyes locking with smaller pink and brown ones. "Get your things; Cinder needs us in her room, now."

Neo cocked her head in confusion for a moment, before nodding in agreement. She turned around; opening one of the many cabinets she had filled in her months of residence. She picked through the shelves, thinking to herself and filling her pockets as she went. _'Alright… Blood-freezer, check... Slow-burner, check... Spare vials, check… Parasol… Check!'_ Neo stood up straight, slinging a small bag of poisons and weapons over her shoulder before following Emerald out of the room.

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Emerald stepped into the room, Neo close behind her, before locking the door. She turned around, only to find Cinder's quarters looking like a Beowolf in heat had charged through. Wardrobes were thrown open, contents scattered. The queen-sized bed held a small backpack, filled with a few books and spare clothes. A pile of Dust crystals lay in the corner, crushed and crumpled. Emerald looked at the walk in closet that Salem had provided, eyes widening at the sight.

Cinder walked into the main room, looking much different than normal. Her normal crimson dresses had been discarded on top of the pile of Dust. Instead, the fire-wielding maiden was clad in her tournament outfit; beige and brown leathers, with more of her pale skin than Emerald was used to seeing at once exposed. A quiver was clipped at her side, filled with what looked like shards of obsidian shaped into arrows, matching a heavy bow slung over her shoulder. Capping off the entire look was what Emerald realized was Tyrian's long duster, stolen and slightly modified to fit the smaller woman.

Emerald snapped out of her haze, looking up to Cinder's flaming eyes. "I got her… what's the emergency?"

Cinder looked around, as if expecting somebody to appear from the shadows and execute her if she started speaking. "We need to leave, now."

Emerald shook her head slightly. "Why? What's happening?"

Cinder scowled, pointing at Emerald's wounded arm. " _That's_ happening! Salem… she's gone too far. I…" She breathed in deeply, as if scared to say the next words out loud. "I wanted to take over the world, not fucking _destroy it_."

Emerald's eyes shot open. "What? Where did you hear this?"

Cinder pulled something out of her bag; a small, leather-bound tome, with a black cover decorated with white and red veins. She opened the book to the first page, reading out loud from the first page. _"It feels odd, this… isolation. I've lost contact with the others… Damn them, always seeing me as a 'lesser one'. I ruled over chaos itself! So what if I have lost control of my plane?! So what if my own creation turned against me, causing peace and taking my power?! I will show those bastards that I am more than a measly 'prince'… I am a GODDESS!"_

Cinder flipped to a new page, about halfway through. _"I've done it! There is no way they'll stay sane now. It must fell strange, looking up to see the moon itself shattering… Then again, there are planes where there are two or more moons in the sky, so why should I care? Chaos should start soon… if this doesn't work, more drastic measures will be needed…"_

Cinder flipped to another page, closer to the end of the apparent journal. She turned it, showing it to Emerald and Neo. The page was comprised of a map of Remnant, with a massive _X_ slashed through beacon in what Emerald hoped was red ink. The rest of the map had tiny notes around each province, written in ways that only a madwoman would be able to comprehend.

Cinder slammed the book shut, tossing it in with her bag and clasping the buckle. "We need to get out of here, now. Before she goes farther…" Cinder shook her head, looking at her feet. Emerald saw something she had only seen once before in the woman's eye; fear. "…before she hurts one of us again." Cinder's sudden lapse in composure was gone as she sat up straight, grabbing her bag. "She needs us for her plans. Therefore; we leave, and derail them."

Emerald nodded in understanding. "What about Mercury?"

Cinder shook her head. "I don't know. He didn't respond to me when I told him to show up. We can't wait, though." Cinder looked around, making sure nothing was forgotten, before looking up once more. "One more thing… no Dust, dump it now."

Emerald drew her chain scythe/flintlocks, ejecting the clips without question. "Why?"

Cinder nodded out the window. Emerald looked, noticing a large Grimm bird perched on a ledge. It was vulture-like, with a scrawny neck and long razor beak. Its skull had no red markings whatsoever, just a dull white sphere of bone plate. "Tracker; can smell the stuff from a hundred miles away."

Neo looked at her handbag full of Dust-laced poisons, frowning. She took it off, tossing it onto the pile and drawing her parasol before following Emerald and Cinder into the hallway.

Cinder checked each corner before waving for the other two to follow closely. She stopped, leaning in to whisper. "Break up, meet me at the front gate."

Emerald and Neo nodded, splitting off in separate directions. Emerald made a line for the kitchen, checking corners and avoiding the Grimm that Salem had stalking the halls. She turned a corner quickly, tripping over herself in a rush…

…and landing on Mercury. "Hey, what's the big rush?"

Emerald looked up, thinking for a moment before shaking her head. "It's nothing; I'm just trying to-"

"You're making a run for it, aren't you?"

Emerald's eyes widened. "How did you…"

Mercury shrugged, his permanent cocky smirk widening slightly. "I could tell from the moment Cinder invited me into her room that you three were planning something." A growl sounded from down the hall, in the direction of Cinder's quarters. Mercury patted Emerald on the shoulder. "Go; I'll cover for you."

Emerald nodded, looking at her partner in crime. Almost a year had passed working together, and she still didn't trust him completely, but she was desperate. "Thank you." With that, she made a run for it.

Mercury smirked again, pulling out his Scroll. "Don't mention it!" He yelled down the hall as he looked through his contacts for Salem's number.

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Cinder threw another fireball, catching a charging Ursa in its chest. The beast crumpled, joining the dozen other dead Grimm in the immediate area. Cinder pointed in the direction the group was walking. "There!"

Emerald followed Cinder's arm. In the distance was a landing pad with a Bullhead, covered in rust and residue of Grimm. The trio picked up their pace, heading straight for the aircraft. "What's the plan?" Emerald yelled.

Cinder shrugged. "We pick a direction and start flying. Hopefully there's enough fuel to make it to Vaccuo, at l-" The landing pad was suddenly engulfed in flames. The group skidded to a halt, looking behind them for the source of the massive fireball. Cinder gasped, pulling Emerald and Neo behind her as she drew her bow.

Salem sat atop a massive Grimm wyvern. The monster was at least fifty feet from tail to teeth, with massive horns on its armored skull adding a few feet. The beast circled them, its wings sending up clouds of red dust, before landing hard a few meters away. "CINDER!"

Cinder stood upright, bow at the ready and allies behind her. "Yes, Salem?" She said, attempting to stay calm.

"What is _THIS_!" The witch screamed, dismounting her beast. Cinder noticed that grim were surrounding them of all shapes and sizes by the dozen.

"You've gone mad with power, Salem!" Cinder screamed, leveling her aim on the witches' heart. "You are going to leave us no world to take control of!"

Salem laughed. She stretched a hand out towards a smaller Beowolf. The creature instantly disintegrated, its matter swirling together towards Salem. In her outstretched hand was now a sword; razor edged obsidian with a bone handle and crossguard. "STAND DOWN NOW!" She aimed the blade at Cinder. "YOU _WON'T_ BE GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE."

Cinder looked over her shoulder at Emerald and Neo. She saw the two doing their best to be brave, but they were obviously terrified. Cinder looked back to Salem, straightening her back and drawing her bow another inch. "I'm sorry, but I cannot allow this to happen. This world is ours for the taking! Why destroy it when we can reforge it in our own image? Rule it!"

Salem shook her head, taking a step forward. "You blind little girl… that IS what I am doing! I am razing this waste lf a world, and remaking it in my own image! And this time, there won't be any light to stop me…"

Cinder released her arrow. It flew straight, reaching the spot between Salem's eyes…

…Before shattering into ash, scattering behind the white witch.

Salem kept advancing, sword drawn. She smirked, looking Cinder in her good eye. "My turn…" The witch charged.

Cinder dropped her bow, spinning around. She threw a wall of wild fire backwards, aiming at nothing in particular as she tackled Emerald and Neo to the ground. _'This is my fault, not theirs…'_ She thought, attempting to cover them. Cinder's slightly less evil side speaking up was a very rare occasion, and she noted that it only happened when she was more passionate for something than she was for the maniacal objective she was after. _'If she wishes to kill me than let her, but don't drag these two into-'_

Cinder's vision was suddenly filled with bright light of every color in the spectrum. A loud chorus of laughter sounded from nowhere, echoing through the wastelands. Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from the spot between Salem and the trio of escapees. Cinder looked over her shoulder, only to become even more dazed and confused.

Cinder could see the back of a man. She saw a head of deep grey hair, obviously aged but still thick and soft, combed back professionally. The man was clad in a suit, split down the middle, with one side boasting a deep magenta with gold waves, the other a dark forest green with silver roots crossing about the fabric. A long cane was in one of his hands, cast of a silvery-black metal with a glowing red orb on the end, contained in a carving that she couldn't make out.

The man looked up to the sky. He yelled out, slightly confused, in a thick accent that Cinder couldn't quite place. "Damnit Haskil, I _knew_ that we had to take a right at the Soul Cairn! That is the last time that I take directions from a talking mudcrab-" He looked around, as if he had just realized where he was. He looked forward, his posture straightening when he locked eyes with Salem. "Salem! Is that you? We haven't seen you in millennia!"

Cinder looked past the man, surprised to see Salem's face… well, at least a section of it, which wasn't hidden behind her facepalming, blushing. The white witch spoke up, her voice slightly muffled behind her palm. "Hello, Sheogorath…"

The man stepped forward, throwing an arm around Salem's shoulder and smiling jovially. Cinder could now see his facial features; a thick silver beard, bright amber eyes with catlike pupils, and an overall air of youth and happiness. "Tell me, what have you been up to, you damsel of chaos? I see that you ditched that 'blue and almost naked' phase with your look, so…" The man stopped, looking around as if sensing the air around him. He nodded somberly. "Oh, I see how it is…" He patted Salem's back reassuringly. "Don't worry madam, even the best of us lose control of our planes. Look at old Vile, for example; that damn sword cost him a chunk of his-"

Sheogorath was cut off as Salem exploded, throwing him towards Cinder and the group. Cinder looked up, only to see the most terrifying thing in all of Remnant.

Every Grimm besides the dragon in a twenty mile radius had been instantly evaporated. The smoky remains of the beasts swarmed around Salem in a cloud so thick it made solid titanium look like hot butter. The white witch's hair had come down, fanning out behind her in a stark white frenzy. Her eyes were glowing red, and the veins across her white skin pulsed with fury. The Grimm mist suddenly froze midair, before shooting towards her body. A few moments later, Salem stood straight up; a ball of dark energy in one hand, a razor-edged longsword in the other…

…and a pair of fifteen-foot long, leathery wings expanding from behind her.

Salem rose above the ground, extending the hand with the ball of energy. Sheogorath stood up, a wicked smile crossing his lips. "Well, I will say that this isn't the best reaction a woman has had to me…" He looked over his shoulder at Cinder and her terrified allies for a moment, before looking back to Salem. "Whelp; time for me to go. Care to come along?"

Without hesitation, Cinder nodded vigorously. Sheogorath smiled, extending his staff. "Well Salem, as it seems to be a day of mourning for you, I can only prescribe one thing…" The staff's tip began to glow bright yellow. "CHEESE FOR EVERYBODY!"

Cinder's vision went white.

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Cinder's eye opened suddenly, only to be flooded with saltwater. She clenched it shut, ignoring the stinging sensation as she began kicking upwards. A minute felt like an hour, but she felt like she made very little progress. Her legs began to give out as she drifted downwards; suddenly feeling heavier than a brick as she released her lung's held air.

Suddenly, Cinder felt a pair of arms wrap under her arms. She felt the newcomer dragging her rapidly upwards, and immediately gasped for air as the duo reached the surface. Cinder went limp as the savior dragged her to the shore, laying her down softly.

Cinder opened her eye, trying to catch a glimpse of her savior as she knelt over her. She caught a glimpse of dark skin, jet black hair, and bright green eyes before the woman kneeling over her tilted her head, looking at something in the distance. "Juno, we have a third one!"

Cinder heard a set of heavy footsteps in her direction before her view was filled with another woman's face. This one was surprisingly fair, with a few very faint freckles scattered. Her hair was fiery red, contrasting starkly with the deep blue eyes staring down into Cinder's own. The woman placed a pair of fingers on Cinder's neck, sighing in relief as she felt a pulse. The woman spoke up, speaking slowly, loudly, and deliberately. "CAN. YOU. UNDERSTAND. ME?"

Cinder nodded, too exhausted to complain about the almost childlike manner of speaking. She felt the woman wrap an arm under her shoulder, pulling her up into a sitting position. Cinder looked around, taking in her surroundings. A small island sat about thirty meters to her left, barely ten feet from the rest of the coast. Cyan waves gently lapped at the shore, surprisingly peaceful looking. A sun reflected off the waves from behind her, giving an impression of it being about midday.

Cinder flinched as she felt an arm wrap around her side. She looked up, only to find Emerald and Neo looking at her as they helped her up. The thief grinned, happy to see her friend safe. "Cinder, are you alright?"

Cinder nodded, standing up on shaky legs with Emerald and Neo's help. "I'm fine, thanks to…" She turned around, looking for a name as she saw her saviors in full for the first time.

The first things that Cinder noticed were their outfits. The red-haired woman was clad in a robe, a simple tan and brown number with a sturdy hood around her neck. The right sleeve was completely gone at the shoulder, revealing a pale arm covered in winding blue tattoos of runes that Cinder didn't recognize. In a sheer contrast to the right arm, the left side of the outfit had heavy steel armor strapped to it. Starting at the shoulder, it was mounted tightly to the robe's arm, leaving almost no gaps for attacks. The main body had the left side reinforced with steel, and the right reduced to heavy leather straps and studs. The legs were both clad in medium strength steel plates. A heavy looking round shield hung across the woman's back, and a traditional longsword in a scabbard sat on her hip.

The darker skinned woman was a completely different tale. She wore leather pants and boots, which looked very light, not including the assortment of buckles and pouches at the belt. Her arms were protected by leather bracers, strapped directly to her arms and running all the way up from wrist to about two inches shy of the shoulder. What shocked Cinder the most was the almost sheer lack of chest armor, as there was little more than a tube-top and the straps of a backpack covering her ample midsection. A pair of scimitars hung at the woman's hips, and Cinder swore she could see the neck of a lute or other stringed instrument sticking out of the bag.

The dark skinned woman stepped forward first, extending a hand to shake. "The name's Cyra, and this is my lo-" The red haired woman coughed loudly. "Sorry, this is my _friend_ , Juno Valerius."

Juno stepped forward, nodding. She spoke in a way that was commanding, yet not demanding, as if her voice required one to respect it. "You three are lucky we were here; we were diving for some old helmet when a bright flash filled the air, followed by a splash and finding you."

Cinder smiled gratefully, nodding in the direction of Juno. "Thank you once again. Now I must ask… where exactly are we? What kingdom are we nearest to?"

Juno pointed behind her, towards a tall hill. "Follow us, and we'll show you."

Cinder and her followers followed the two locals, making their way up the large hill. Neo looked around, taking in the local flora. The grass was golden, waving gracefully in the wind. A few large gray boulders scattered the landscape, with brambles and flowers consuming them. Far in the distance to the group's left looked like an ancient fortress hewn of stone and falling apart.

The group crested the hill, and Neo's jaw dropped. Below them, on the other side of the hill, was one of the most beautiful cities she had ever seen. It stretched for about half a mile, but what it lacked in size it made up for in quality. Each building was built in white stone, with green tiles on the roofs. It surrounded a large ship-filled bay, with a lighthouse sitting on a rocky isle. A massive castle looked over the entire town, with guards in matching chainmail walking the walls.

Juno and Cyra turned around, obviously confused by how surprised the trio of newcomers was. Juno shrugged. "I don't know what you meant by 'kingdom', but I would like to be the first to welcome you to Anvil County, Cyrodiil."

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 _A.N._ _: well, that is a much better start, don't you think? If the location is slightly confusing, don't worry; the tale still takes place about 200 years into the fourth era, with the Thalmor in charge and such. I just felt that expanding a bit on the continent of Tamriel would be a good idea, and where's a better place to start than Cyrodiil? We will make our way to Skyrim relatively shortly, I'm just experimenting a bit, and also want to get a bit of backstory in for the Dragonborn and her companion… that brings up a question; do you still want the normal Skyrim beginning, or is going a completely different, Helgen-free route preferred? I won't set up a poll as it's a tiny question, but make sure to mention it in reviews, as well as ideas for alternatives._

 _Well, that's all for now. Please, feel free to drop a review and a follow/fav. I hope you all like the new direction that I am bringing the tale, and am open to any and all feedback! Thank you all, and remember, in the immortal words of Todd Howard; "It just works."_

 _DovahCourier_


	2. Chapter 2

_A.N. : Well… it's certainly been a while, has it not? I'm sorry… this chapter has been stuck in writer's purgatory for months. Senior year of HS, robotics, college prep, my other story… all excuses aside, what matters is that I'm sitting down to tell the tale now. There have been a few things in canon (vol5) that have led to change in plans here… The reveal of Cinder's all-out maiden powers and abilities, her weird internal Grimm/arm situation, the possible love/crush Emerald has for her (that makes things easier, btw)… I've had to re-plan and rewrite this chapter (and the entire story's plan, for that matter) a few times to say the least. Anyway, I'm glad to be getting this out, and hope that I haven't lost all of you to the winds of time…_

 _(BTW, I'll be trying a new format for line-breaks and general formatting, in an attempt to differentiate between this and my other story.)_

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 _I own nothing but my ideas; RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth, and Elder Scrolls belongs to Bethesda. Now, let's get storytelling before Skyrim launches for the rest of my household appliances._

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 _ **Of Chaos and Dragons: A RWBY/Elder Scrolls Tale**_

 _Chapter Two: The Lady of Anvil and her Guard._

Cinder still felt unbalanced, as if she was still neck-deep in the ocean, despite being on dry ground as she followed her group's saviors down the hill towards the fortified city before them. Her clothes felt heavy; the leather and rough denim much heavier than her normal silk and Dust, only made worse by being soaked. She looked over at Emerald. The ruby-eyed girl seemed to be holding together decently, but was shivering in the breeze coming off of the ocean behind them. Cinder removed her heavy coat, tossing it to Emerald without a word. She looked over to one of the group's saviors, the scarlet-headed woman that had introduced herself as Juno. "Thank you again for helping us… Where are you leading us, exactly?"

The woman looked over at Cinder, her warm smile doing nothing for the freezing pyromancer. "You three are obviously cold, broke, and have no food. It's the least we can do to get you a hot fire, a bed for the night, and a meal… How did you three get all the way out there, anyway?"

Cinder thought for a moment, raising a calming hand to silence Emerald and, redundantly, Neo. "We were on a ship. It hit a rock, and we were thrown overboard in the chaos."

The second woman, with skin darker than Emerald's and jet black hair running down her back in dreadlocks, looked at Cinder with doubt in her eyes. "We didn't see any ship near the coast… and there was that flash of light a few seconds before we saw you three drifting."

Cinder shrugged, hoping the near-drowning experience hadn't dampened her charm. "Well I guess we drifted away from the wreck."

The woman moved to respond, only for Juno to rest a hand on her shoulder. "Cyra… calm down, it's fine. We are in no position to interrogate anybody!"

Cyra smirked, shaking her head. "You're right, enough of that happens at home already."

Cinder looked towards the city, making out distinct districts ranging from neighborhoods, to a modest port, to the massive castle on a rocky hill separate from the rest of the city. "So, where exactly are we heading?"

Juno casually pointed at the towering keep overlooking the bay. "As the lady of Castle Anvil, I welcome you to our home."

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 __To Cinder's surprise, the group was not led straight through the city gates to the castle. Instead, the pair of locals led the cold, soaked, and confused Remnant-dwellers to a small entrance on the side of the castle island facing the harbor. The entrance was locked behind a metal grate, which Juno opened the lock to before gesturing for the others to enter. Cyra took the lead, pulling a lit torch out of a wall rack and beginning to walk down the stone tunnel. "Alright, if we stay quiet, the guards probably shouldn't see us..."

"Um… Cyra?" Juno's voice sounded slightly shaky from the back of the group.

Cyra kept walking and talking. "There should be a spare guest room upstairs with a hearth, so if you three want to warm up you can just start a fire."

"Cyra..."

"Let's just hope that dad doesn't find out that we-"

"Find out that you what?"

The entire group froze. Cinder watched as Cyra turned on a dime, the color in her face draining as she walked past the three Remnant dwellers, back up the tunnel. Cinder's eye followed the girl, and all she could do was stare in shock at the sight now before them.

The man was massive, standing at least six feet tall. He looked much like Cyra in skin tone and hair, but his features were much more angular. His head was shaved completely, with a well-trimmed beard on his face. He was clad in heavy plates of steel and leather, with a red cape mounted under the shoulder plates and flowing to ankle length. Across the man's back sat a pair of heavy maces with simple wooden handles and steel heads. "CYRA! What did I say about being caught alone with the lady of the house?"

Cyra looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact. "To… not do so..."

Juno stepped between the two. "Captain Marcus I opollogise. It was my idea to head down to the isle and go treasure hunting, and Cyra was merely doing her duty and not letting me leave alone."

Marcus looked down at Juno, shaking his head disappointedly. "Young lady, you know that we are already on edge with the Thalmor. If it were up to me, by the Nine I wouldn't give a damn what you two were up to, but you have a _duty_ to preform for this city. If _he_ ever caught word of what you were up to mere days before the wedding..." The man trailed off.

Juno nodded. "I know sir, and I'm sorry. But we have brought guests;" She gestured towards Cinder, Emerald, and Neo, who did their best to smile despite the freezing cold and wet. "Who just washed up from a shipwreck and need somewhere to eat and rest."

Marcus glared at the guests, before looking back down at Juno and nodding. "Take them through the main gates to the great hall. After you get them a room, your father wants a word with you."

"Thank you, sir." Juno nodded, waving for the group of Remnant dwellers to follow. "Come on C, let's show them their room."

The group began to pass buy, only for Marcus to stop Cyra with an extended arm. Cinder watched as he looked down at the girl. "Barracks. Weapon polishing and repairs. Now."

Cyra nodded, look of defeat on her face, before waving to the others and following her father down the service tunnel.

 _ **~~~LINE_BREAK~~~**_

Juno opened the door, gesturing for Cinder and the others to enter the room. The trio walked in, surprised to find how nicely put together the guest suite was; two beds with full blankets, windows overlooking the city below, and a flaming hearth built into the wall. Emerald and Neo immediately walked through the doorway, sitting down on the ground next to the fire and warming up. Cinder looked up at Juno, nodding and smiling. "Thank you again for the help."

Juno shrugged. "What can I say? When the damn Thalmor are swarming the entire country, we need to do our best to be nice when we can. There are fresh clothes in the dresser, and dinner down in the main hall in about three hours."

Cinder nodded in agreement, taking note to look into this 'Thalmor' group when she could walk and see straight. She bowed her head thanks, closed the door, and approached the warm fire with her allies.

Cinder sat down, peeling off her soaked top as she felt the flames begin to warm her. She extended her right arm, forming a small fireball and running it close enough to her skin to warm and dry herself without burning. She stood up, walking over to the wardrobe against the far wall. Sure enough, simple clothes were neatly folded and hung, organized by size. She picked up a simple dress, the deep red and black garment apparently made completely by hand judging by the stitches slight inconsistency. She turned around, opening the dress up and stepping into the back…

...as she accidentally locked eyes with Emerald, who was staring awestruck at Cinder's figure.

Cinder finished slipping into her dress, shaking her head and dismissing Emerald's reaction. She looked towards the thief, realizing Neo had already passed out against the wall next to the fire. She walked towards Emerald, smiling as she sat down. "Are you ok? You haven't spoken much since we arrived..."

Emerald shook her head, obviously out of the trance she had been in moments ago. "I… I don't know. This place feels… strange. I haven't seen any sign of technology whatsoever, and I've never even heard of an 'Anvil'. And I still can't get Salem out of my head… Merc ratted us out… he stabbed us in the back… She was going to slaughter us like cattle..." Emerald's knees came up to her chest, and the girl began to rock back and forth slowly, panicking. "I don't know where we are, I don't want her to hunt us down, I'm scared, I'm cold, I'm out of Dust..." Cinder had to focus on Emerald, ignoring as darkness began to flicker wildly in the corners of her view. "I… I just… I can't..."

Cinder put a hand on Emerald's shoulder, her normally stoic and cold tone lightening up for once. "Emerald… calm down, ok? All I know is that wherever we are, it's miles and miles away from wherever she is." She softly grabbed Emerald's chin, pulling the panicked thief's gaze to meet her good eye. "I don't have many friends, but those that I do have my protection and trust. Understand?"

Emerald nodded, tension in her back loosening up, only for her to start shivering. Cinder raised her left hand, gesturing to the girl before her. "Need a bit more fire?" Emerald nodded. Cinder dug deep, attempting to tap into her maiden powers and summon a bit of warmth in her left arm.

As soon as the heat from her core reached her elbow, Cinder froze in shock. She felt pain rocket around her body, starting at her arm and spiking towards her center. She bit down hard on her lip, resisting the urge to scream her lungs out as the heat receded back to her core.

"Oh my god are you ok?" Emerald asked, her own problems forgotten when she saw Cinder's pain.

Cinder nodded, dismissing Emerald's hand before it could reach her shoulder. She looked down at her left arm, feeling something… off. She looked at the skin, realizing what was going wrong. _'Oh no… It's dead.'_ She hadn't realized it at first, but it was now hitting her like a rabid Ursa. In her rage, Salem had killed and absorbed every Grimm around her… including the one that had been growing like a parasite ever since Cinder had been recruited by the white witch. Her arm felt, with no better way to describe it, hollow. It had been torn apart in the Beacon incident wit her eye, and with a mix of Maiden magic and Salem's Grimm manipulation, a human looking shell had been placed over the wounded area while the Grimm inside formed the limb itself. Cinder now watched as a small scrape on her forearm, likely from hitting the water, leaked the deep black blood of a Grimm.

"What is it?" Emerald asked, concerned.

Cinder shook her head, dismissing the problem. "It's… it's nothing. Get some rest."

Emerald nodded, curling up on the floor next to the fire. "Hey, Cinder?"

Cinder looked over at Emerald, whose back was facing towards her. "Yes?"

"Thanks… for being a friend." Emerald responded, hesitating slightly.

Cinder didn't respond, only patting Emerald on the shoulder as she laid down near the fire and fell asleep.

~~~LINE_BREAK~~~

Cinder woke up first. She sat at the edge of one of the beds, doing a check on what weapons and equipment had survived the spontaneous transport. _'Alright… I have my bow, but only a few arrows arrows. The shorty has her umbrella from hell, and Emerald… Em...'_ Cinder found herself staring into the fire, now little more than smoldering coals and wood, as she thought about her recovery after the Beacon incident.

When the little red reaper had exploded into a silver blur, the Grimm inside of Cinder had panicked. She felt it try to dig to the surface through her arm and eye, only to be caught in the blast of silver energy. Cinder had almost been thrown from the tower, only having enough energy to hold on for dear life with her good arm until a Nevermore flew by and grabbed her.

When Cinder came to, she didn't know where she was. She couldn't feel anything but pain. She couldn't see anything out of one eye. She was afraid. Afraid that Salem saw her as a failure. Afraid that she was going to be discarded, her use done.

But then Emerald arrived.

Three months of living hell. Arm reconstruction. Grimm growth inside of her. Getting used to her newfound full maiden powers. Punishment lashes from Salem for the loss of the Beacon beast. Through it all, Cinder had Emerald at her side. The girl was more than loyal; she truly cared for the evil woman. She helped with recovery, using illusions and basic training to help Cinder get used to combat with a single eye, as well as helping with two-handed tasks while she recovered from a 'broken bone' in her arm.

Then one night, it happened.

Cinder had spent the whole day training, not even seeing Emerald until later that night. When she did see the thief, what she found horrified her. Salem's pet had attacked her over something so stupid Cinder couldn't even recall. Emerald had a long burn mark along her right arm, running from elbow to shoulder, scorched black by heat and Grimm residue. Cinder opened her heart once, allowing for the girl to come to her quarters for a night.

The night was restless, with Cinder giving in and letting Emerald curl up with her in bed. The green-haired girl held Cinder tightly, panicking as thoughts of Salem flooded her mind. Cinder, through Emerald's panic, realized what the thief thought of her emotionally; she loved her. With this, Cinder realized that she too had fallen for the woman now sharing the bed with her. The two talked a bit throughout the night, feelings slipping through conversation without warning.

Within an hour, the two were rushing to tear the clothes from each other's frames.

Within two hours, the two had fallen asleep, tangled in sheets and embracing each other tightly.

That morning, Cinder found herself alone in bed, and Emerald locked away in Salem's dungeon.

Cinder spent the next months burring her feelings, realizing that it was the only way to keep the only person she truly cared for safe. She treated Emerald as she had shortly after meeting her; as nothing more than an employee. She locked her heart away, and shunned Emerald's away.

"Hello, are you three alright?"

Cinder jolted upright, looking towards the door. She stood up, wiping a tear from her eye, and walked to open the door. On the other side of the door stood Juno, carrying a large roll of parchment. "How are you three settling in?"

Cinder nodded towards the others, still curled up next to the fire. "We are doing fine. I cannot thank you enough for what you've done for us."

Juno shrugged, and Cinder realized what she was wearing. Her armor and robes had been abandoned, replaced with the most uncomfortable looking dress Cinder had ever seen; a high, frilled crest went from the base of her neck, almost reaching the top of her head, solid fine metals and gemstones locked areas that traditionally would allow for movement, and the corset looked like it would burst if Cinder looked at it wrong. "Again, it's the least I could do. Anyway, I brought something for you to look at..."

Cinder raised her eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Basic naval charts and maps. If you can find the route your ship was on, you may be able to find your way to your destination after you recover."

Cinder nodded along, taking the document from the woman. _'This is… odd. I guess this village doesn't have as much technology as most places. We might be in southern Vacuo...'_ "Thank you, miss. We'll see you down in the hall in about… an hour?"

Juno did her best to nod in the prison of a red dress before closing the door behind her. Cinder carried the roll of parchment over to the bed. She sat down, unrolled the parchment, letting a few documents fall out before she looked at the map before her…

...and dropped the document on the floor out of shock.

She picked it up again, making sure she wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough, none of the landmasses marked had any semblance of being from Remnant. All the paper marked was a single large continent with a few surrounding isles, divided into a handful of marked nations. The scale marked the landmass as being at least the size of most of Remnant's major continents, and small writing on the edges noted that what was shown was all of the known world.

Cinder looked at some of the map markings in more detail. She identified Anvil as a small dot on the southwestern coast of the central nation, Cyrodiil. As she looked at the different countries, with dozens of cities penned down in hand-drawn detail, the truth came crashing down on Cinder like a boulder. _'We're… we're not on Remnant anymore.'_

Cinder put down the shocking map, looking at some of the other documents that had fallen out of the bundle. There were a few notes on shipping routes, local ports, and basic supply costs in a currency called _Septums_. The thing that caught Cinder's attention the most was a small hand scrawled note, folded in half. _'I know you are not of this place. Treat yourself to a drink after dinner… Black Marsh Brandy, back wall of the wine cellar. Come alone. ~B.V.'_

Cinder put the note down, folding it. She looked back towards Neo and Emerald, who had slowly begun to stir from their sleep. She stood up, rolling the map up once more as she prepared to reveal the news of their location to her group.

 _~~~LINE_BREAK~~~_

Cinder raised a torch, walking through the dark castle basement. Emerald and Neo had taken the news on their situation surprisingly well, obviously too exhausted to fully consider what an entirely new world meant. The group had gone to the great hall, sat among dozens of townsfolk clad in simple, homemade clothes, eaten a meal that tasted more real than anything Salem had ever provided, and immediately returned to their chamber to fall asleep for the night. Cinder had decided not to overburden her mind with the situation, focusing only on the important details. _'We're free from Salem. Remnant is a thing of the past. The artifacts, the maidens, the kingdoms… We're safe. I have no idea what to do with this newfound safety yet, but I assume only time will tell...'_

Cinder reached a low-ceilinged chamber deep within the castle, with walls lined by racks of barrels and bottles. She looked around, reading cobweb-covered labels on dusty containers of alcohol, before finally finding what she was looking for. She looked closer at the bottle labeled _Black Marsh Brandy,_ noticing a few things immediately. For one, there was a drawing of what looked like a bipedal lizard-man hand-drawn on the label. Along with that, the neck of the bottle had finger-shaped indents in the dust, breaking an otherwise uniform layer that covered most of the room. Cinder shrugged, wrapped her fingers around the neck of the bottle, and attempted to pick it up.

The bottle hinged outwards, it's base connected to the shelf below. As cinder released the glass neck, the shelf to her left began to shift, filling the room with the sound of rattling bottles of wine as a tunnel revealed itself. Cinder acted on instinct, heading straight into the tunnel torch-first as it closed behind her as quickly as it had opened.

Cinder followed the dark tunnel for at least a hundred meters, realizing that she had to be far out side the castle's inner walls by now. After walking farther, she realized she could see a light at the far end of the tunnel, as well as hear people talking. She reached the end of the tunnel and found that it led into an underground circular cistern, in the center of which stood Juno, Cyra, and Cyra's father.

"Alright, round three. No holding back. Winner gets to go to bed an hour early." Marcus said, standing to the side and circling around the two girls. Cinder saw that Juno had ditched the uncomfortable looking dress, now clad in nothing but swordsman's pants and heavy bandages wrapped around her midsection. Cinder could now see the girl's full tattoo set; blue runes winding up her right arm, across the shoulder blade, to a stopping point at the base of the skull. She held her shield in her left hand, and a wooden training sword in her right. Cyra was still in her lightweight leather armor, with a training sword in each hand at the ready. Marcus held a mace between the two girls, nodding to both individually before stepping back. "Go!"

Cyra immediately jumped into action, rolling and swiping at Juno's legs. Juno jumped,kicking out at Cyra's head and sending the woman rolling backwards. Juno didn't leave a chance for her opponent to retreat, instead stepping in and closing the distance. Cyra attempted to swing both of her swords at once, only for Juno's flat shield to catch them and deflect her momentum towards the ground. Juno used the opening, swinging hard at the back of Cyra's neck.

Cyra ducked, using her redirected momentum to avoid Juno's blow. She came to her feet behind the shield-wielding woman, too close to swing a blade, but close enough to slam her elbow between the woman's shoulders and send her sprawling forwards. Cyra spun on a heel, charging at Juno full force before leaping at the woman. Juno Rolled into a ball, shield raised and ready to catch Cyra as she landed feet-first on the piece of armor. Juno stood up with full force, throwing Cyra loose and letting go of the shield.

The two women recovered, staring each other down. Juno tossed her sword to her left hand, reversed the grip point-down, and raised her right arm. Cinder watched, awestruck, as the tattoos began to glow along Juno's arm, followed by a blue arc of lightning flying from the palm of her hand.

Cyra raised her left sword, catching the lightning bolt with the blade. The wooden weapon grew bright, before bursting into flames in her hands. Cyra threw the sword to the ground, gripping the right one in both hands and positioning herself defensively. Juno shot more sparks, preventing Cyra from doing anything as she charged forward and swung her sword low. The wooden blade caught Cyra in the legs, forcing her to her knees as she brought the sword back, slapping Cyra across the side of the face with the pommel.

Juno rested her blade against the side of Cyra's neck. "Looks like I win, darling."

Cyra smirked, getting to her feet and shaking Juno's hand. "I'll see you in an hour then."

Juno turned around to head for the stairs, only to lock eyes with Cinder. Cinder watched as the woman stared, confused. "Wait… how did you..."

Marcus stepped in front of Cyra and Juno, maces at the ready and a snarl on his face.

"Wait! Everybody calm down, I invited her."

All parties looked towards the far end of the cistern. A wooden door into the next room had opened, and a man stepped through into the light. He was clad in heavy red robes, flowing behind him despite the well worn edges of the fabric. His beard almost reached the floor, with the lower half a fading ginger and the upper half natural gray, without a single hair on his shining head. He leaned against a long, gnarled wooden staff for support as he walked across the room towards the staircase. Juno looked at the man, confused. "Grandfather, what are you-"

"Silence, child." The man said, snapping but still sounding somewhat calm. He turned his attention up to Cinder. "You, come down here please! We're not going to bite… and bring your friend too."

Cinder raised her eyebrow in confusion. "Friend? I came alone as requested"

"Um… about that..."

Cinder turned around, surprised to see Emerald hiding in the shadows of the tunnel behind her. Cinder glared at Emerald, disappointed and surprised more than anything.

"Oh calm yourself, she's only a child. Curiosity is important to all young ones..." The old man said, walking over to the edge of the room and sitting down on a stone bench. "I am Birard Valerius, court mage to my son Maxwell Valerius, and grandfather to this young lady over here. Now please, if you would enlighten us on where exactly you are from?"

~~~LINE_BREAK~~~

"So then, after the man in the suit saved us, we just landed in the ocean outside of the city." Cinder concluded. She had told them as much and as little as she could; focusing on the world of Remnant itself and omitting all she could about their direct involvement with Salem. As she concluded her story, she looked up at her audience; Emerald had stayed next to her, backing up her lies without a second thought. Cyra and her father had gone back to the center of the room, training with weapons and ignoring the story. Juno and her grandfather Birard listened closely taking in every detail the pyromancer said.

After a moment, Birard broke the silence. "So it seems that the easiest explanation for your situation is that you are from another plane of Oblivion."

Emerald looked at Birard, confused. "'Oblivion'?"

"Planes of Oblivion are… to put it lightly, different realities. Different planes of existence." Juno said, proud of herself.

Birard nodded, smiling at Juno proudly. "Yes, and while there are the better known ones – Dagon's flaming Deadlands, Molag Bal's twisted Coldharbour, Mora's great libraries of Apocrypha and the such – but there are other planes that remain lost or undiscovered, such as yours. It seems the universe just had great timing, dropping the Madgod himself at your feet in time to help!"

"You're lucky he didn't just haul you all back to the Shivering Isles and have you made into cheese… or worse." Juno noted.

Birard looked at Cinder. "Anyway, I believe that you mentioned you would've been considered a mage in your culture?" Cinder thought for a moment before nodding. "Alright, would you care to give a little demonstration? The magicka of other planes is oftentimes different than our own."

"Certainly." Cinder responded calmly. She stood up, walking towards the middle of the room. Cyra and Marcus backed off, sitting down on a bench and recovering from their sparing match as Cinder took center stage. _'alright, just don't tap into Maiden abilities and only use one arm, and you should be alright.'_ Cinder extended her right arm, letting her semblance do all of the work as a small fireball formed in her palm. She aimed her arm at a straw dummy on a wall as she prepared to fire the projectile, only for a completely new sensation to overcome her.

Unlike the raw heat that came with using her Maiden powers, the new feeling overcoming Cinder felt like a rush of ice water straight to the back of the skull. She felt the energy flowing through her, going from the air around her to the fireball in her right hand. She extended her hand, snuffing out the fireball her semblance had created, palm open and ready, before releasing a torrential stream of flames towards the dummy.

As Cinder continued to cast the unregulated gout of heat, she felt more and more of the energy around her flowing through her. _'This is… odd.'_ She thought as the flames began to increase in strength. Cinder decided to attempt to make the flame even stronger, digging deep into herself and attempting to spark off her semblance. She felt the small spark of burning heat attempt to link with the cold rush of power going through her at the moment, the two separate sources intertwining slowly…

...Before the cold rush of magic spiked once more, coming into contact with the buried and dormant Maiden power deep within Cinder.

Immediately, the yellow-orange cone of flame became a white-hot pillar of pure heat, burning straight through the dummy and digging into the solid stone wall behind it. Cinder felt as more and more of the Maiden energy mixed with the outside source, the intense heat and shocking cold shocking her system into overdrive. She felt the flame in her hand grow hotter and hotter, going past anything she had cast before. _'Too much… too much… MAKE IT STOP IT'S TOO MUCH!'_ She closed her fist, attempting to cut off the explosive flow of energy. As soon as her hand was closed, Cinder felt as if she had attempted to cover a flamethrower from firing with her hand. She screamed as she felt the energy burning through her from the inside. She looked at her arm, attempting to bring up her aura defensively, only for it to seal the flames in with her and speed up the burns. She screamed again, falling to her knees as the pain became overwhelming. She felt the link between her Maiden power and the outside source sever, the flames dying down as she collapsed, unconscious, to the floor.

~~~LINE_BREAK~~~

Cinder woke up with a pounding headache. _'ok, note to self; Maiden powers don't mix well with whatever the hell is in the air around here'_ She sat up, looking around. She was in bed back in her guest room, wrapped in a rough sheet, with Emerald sitting at her side, asleep in a chair, while Neo was in the bed to her right.. "What the hell just happened?"

"Well, whatever internal power you have from your home didn't mix very well with magicka being introduced to your system."Cinder heard Birard's voice to her left. She turned, the man leaving her blind spot and coming into view.

"Magicka? What is that, exactly?" Cinder asked, curious.

"Well, to put it simply, Magicka is the energy that we mages use to cast spells. The better the mage, the more they can have flow through them at once without exhausting their bodies."

Cinder nodded at the simple answer, assuming asking any further would cause Birard to go into a deep, boring lecture. "By the way, I must mention that you seem to have an incredible natural repair system! A bit of basic restoration magic helped it along, but the burns along your arm seem to have healed themselves."

Cinder nodded, realizing that her Aura was likely a foreign concept to the world's people. "What can I say? It's a bit of a gift."

The man nodded, standing up. "Well, it seems that I should let you three rest. If you wish to slip in on another one of the lady's little… meeting sessions… we meet once every three days, in the same spot. I'm willing to pass on a few tricks before I drift off with age." With that, the man turned towards the door and left.

Cinder sat up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed. She looked over at Emerald, suddenly finding herself bombarded with feelings. _'Do I tell her? What if she thinks I hate her?'_ Cinder thought about what would happen if she told Emerald her feelings. _'What's the worst that could happen?'_ Cinder flinched as the mental image of Salem came into her mind. She could picture Salem, the witch's pure savage power coming out as she ripped Emerald from Cinder's grasp, throwing her into a sea of Grimm while Cinder could only watch.

Cinder shook her head, wiping the cold sweat away from her brow. _'No… I can't risk it. Even if she's entire planes of existence away, I can't risk it.'_ Cinder laid back down, blew out the lamp Birard on the bedside table, and went to sleep.

Within seconds of falling asleep, Cinder heard a scream from down the hallway. Cinder shot out of bed, grabbing the bow she had brought from Remnant. She watched Emerald and Neo get up frantically. "What was that?" Emerald asked, confused.

Cinder shook her head. "Don't know. Stay quiet. Follow me." With that, she notched an arrow, opened the door, and stepped into the hallway.

Cinder looked down the corridor, noticing that the door at the far end had been thrown open. She took the lead, Neo and Emerald following closely. Cinder stopped at the edge of the open doorway, peeking into the room.

The room beyond was much better furnished than anything else Cinder had seen in the castle, with ornate rugs and curtains and wooden furniture that almost shined with polish. In the center of the room were three figures; two in a well-built bed that Cinder immediately recognized as Juno and Cyra, bodies hidden under a sheet and pressing themselves against the back wall, and an unrecognized man facing towards the two, standing at least six feet tall in a massive set of black and gold armor.

Cinder acted on instinct, drawing her bowstring back and loosing an arrow at the unknown man. The projectile caught him in the back of the leg, eliciting a loud grunt of pain as he fell to one knee on the floor. Cyra followed up, grabbing a heavy looking book off of the bedside table and slamming it into the side of the man's head, forcing him to crumble to the ground.

Cyra and Juno got out of bed, quickly grabbing and pulling on clothes scattered around the floor. Juno walked up to Cinder, standing about even in height with the woman. "Thank you. I didn't think we would've been able to take him down."

Cinder ignored the niceties, trying to figure out the situation completely. "Who was that?"

Juno blushed, stumbling across her words. "He is my… my..."

Cyra cut in curtly as she ran about the room, grabbing her things. "That is Inganar Anaedihre, Aldmeri Dominion inquisitor-knight general and Juno's arranged husband-to-be."

Cinder's eye widened in surprise as the situation dawned on her. "So, you're all set up to marry this guy… and he finds you in bed with your bodyguard?"

Cyra cut in, anger filling her words. "Yes, ha ha, laugh at the freaks! It's not my fault that men are nothing more than slobs that waste my time."

Cinder prepared a retort for the angered woman, only to hear thunderous footsteps from down the hall. She looked around, happy to find Cyra's father approaching. The man shot past the Remnant-dwellers, cornering Cyra and Juno. He spoke up, and Cinder could hear fear coming through the man's gruff voice. "By the Nine… do you have any idea what you just did?"

Juno put a hand on Cyra's shoulder, stepping between her and Marcus. "Hey, he barged in drunk and unannounced. What my bodyguard and I get up to in my private quarters-"

"This isn't about that! You just knocked out the most important fucking elf between here and the capital!" Marcus exclaimed. "It's time. I know your training isn't done, but you are going to need to make a run for it. My guards have stood down, but the Thalmor..."

"It's ok, sir. We have a plan. We'll cut through the capital, grab some supplies, and make a break north." Juno replied, grabbing a knapsack as Cyra handed it to her.

"We're going to need to get the damn elves off of the town wall long enough for you to make it away from the town… If I get the garrison together, we can probably fight some of them off and distract the ones in charge."

Juno laughed, more out of shock than anything. "And what, start a second war?! I know you and my grandfather want me to be safe out there, but there's a point where you can go too far."

Cinder stepped between the two, interjecting. "If I may… I believe I have a proposal that will get these two out of the city without any suspicion..."

Everyone in the room looked at Cinder. Cinder smiled, stepped up to Marcus, and began whispering her plan.

~~~LINE_BREAK~~~

"GUARDS TO YOUR BOATS! THE KIDNAPPERS HAVE TAKEN HER BY SEA!"

Cinder smirked under her hood, listening to the town guards rushing about behind the wall far behind them. She looked up at Juno, the girl's face obscured by the hood casting a shadow over it. "What did I say? No. Suspicion. Whatsoever."

Juno nodded, leaning her weight into Cyra's frame as the other girl slept against the noble-blooded redhead. "Thank you for your help. If we make it to Imperial City by sundown, we can be across the northern border within a day."

Cinder nodded, ignoring Emerald's own sleeping form resting against the inside wall of the carriage as she looked towards the driver. "Neo, of you could be a darling and get us up the road within a few hours, that would be grand."

Neo nodded, whipping the reins and speeding up the horse-drawn carriage along the northeastern road into the sunrise.

~~~LINE_BREAK~~~

 _ A.N.: Well folks, here we go! A couple of stops heading north, then we're off to Skyrim. Again, I'm very sorry for the massive delay, I just haven't had enough writing time on my hands. I am sorry if the chapter was a little bit scattered compared to my usual work, I was trying a new writing style (Cinder's little flashback), and wanted to get rolling and avoid slowing down. Along with that, this is one of those chapters that I had a bit of trouble getting out due to excitement and planning for future ones. Next chapter will be in Imperial City, so if you'll excuse me I need to go dig out my copy of Oblivion and fuck around for a few hours. Feel free to drop reviews and comments if you want, or just PM me if you feel compelled to do that instead. Thank you all again for reading, and have a great day!_

 _~ DovahCourier_


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